Monday, July 20, 2015

Last week,
we looked at potato salad recipes that are free from the Top 8 allergens
(peanuts, tree nuts, milk, egg, soy, wheat, fish, and shellfish). This week, I
stalked the web for the best-looking pasta salads I could find. To make my
list, recipes have to eliminate the most common allergens, but definitely keep
the flavor! As always, I look for recipes that taste great, look wonderful, and
won’t have a single person at your barbecue or potluck party even noticing milk
and egg aren’t part of your creation!

Note: If you
must avoid wheat or gluten, you’ll want to use gluten-free pasta for these
recipes, of course.

Let’s get
started.

First, I
have to share a Ranch Dressing tip or two. Ranch dressing mix is a tasty
addition to pasta salads, but finding a milk-free version is tricky. My local
Smith’s grocery store (which is part of the Kroger brand of grocery stores)
carries an envelope of mix called “Kroger Party Dip – Ranch,” which is
milk-free. I have used it to make ranch dip by mixing it with Tofutti “BetterThan Sour Cream” soy-based non-dairy sour cream—a huge hit at parties. I also mixed it with Vegenaise (egg-free mayonnaise substitute) to make a sauce for a pasta salad the
other day. My son declared it was “the best pasta salad you’ve ever made, Mom!”
So if you live near a Kroger store (such as Smith’s, King Soopers, or Fred
Meyer), check to see if they carry the “Kroger Party Dip-Ranch” mix. (Don’t
confuse it with the Kroger Salad Magic Ranch Dressing mix, which contains milk.
Sheesh. Don’t these people know they’re just making our lives complicated with
all these different versions?)

If you can’t
find the Kroger mix in your local store, you’re still in luck. I found a recipe
online to make your own Homemade Ranch Seasoning & Dressing Mix, and it’s super
easy! (I’m serious. Throw some spices in a blender or spice grinder. Voila!
You’re done!) We have Megan, over at her “These Things I Love” blog, to thank
for this recipe.

Now, on to
some great-looking pasta salad recipes that will perk up that potluck table
like nobody’s business:

Italian Pasta Salad:
In its simplest form, a good pasta salad consists of 3 things: cooked pasta,
some veggies, and a dressing. This recipe from About.com gives you the
step-by-steps. It uses a cup of your favorite safe bottled Italian salad
dressing, or you can substitute a favorite safe vinaigrette (like balsamic!
Yum!).

Easy Vegan Artichoke Pasta Salad:
This recipe from About.com is even easier, because you use the oil from a jar
of marinated artichoke hearts instead of the salad dressing! Plus I think
artichoke hearts always add a little extra class to anything they’re in, don’t
you?

Vegan Pasta Salad with Pickles,Vinegar, and Olive Oil:
Love that hint of pickle/vinegar flavor? Then you’ll love cooling off with this
pasta salad from PopSugar.com that uses a dressing of vinegar, olive oil, and
Dijon mustard (and some diced dill pickles for a little extra kick).

Southwestern Pasta Salad:
I’m a fan of all things Southwestern flavored, so this recipe from
Allrecipes.com is right up my alley. Its dressing consists of vegetable oil,
fresh lime juice, and spices, and it will definitely spice up your picnic! You
could also turn this into a main dish by adding some diced grilled chicken or
taco chicken (shredded chicken cooked with taco seasoning).

Greek Goddess Pasta Salad: This recipe from AllRecipes.com calls for a bottle of pre-made Greek
vinaigrette, and it includes sun-dried tomatoes, avocados, Kalamata olives, a
jar of roasted peppers, and other tasty tidbits. If you can’t find a safe Greek vinaigrette
dressing, try this recipe to whip up your own: Absolutely Fabulous Greek/House Dressing.

Kelley’s Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad: Okay, since my son loved this
one so much, I figured I’d better post it.

Kelley's Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

1 box of
pasta, any shape (I used 2 different shapes, to mix things up)

1 c. safe
mayo, such as Vegenaise (there is a soy-free version, if that’s one of your allergens)

1/4 tsp
garlic powder

1/4 c. rice or
soy milk (or other safe milk)

Directions:

Cook pasta
according to directions. If using veggies that you prefer to be lightly steamed,
go ahead and steam them. Dice bacon into small pieces and fry. When the bacon
is almost done, add the steamed veggies to the bacon so that the veggies take
on that bacon flavor, and continue to cook until bacon is crispy enough for
your taste. In a small bowl, mix the Ranch dressing mix, safe mayo or
Vegenaise, garlic powder, and rice milk. When the pasta is done, drain it and run
some cold water over it to stop it from continuing to cook. Then put the pasta
in a large serving bowl with the veggies and bacon. Gently stir in the ranch
dressing. Serve and enjoy!

My son, who
is now an always-on-the-go 16-year-old with a hollow leg, is primarily a
carnivore. He thinks vegetables are a conspiracy by mothers world-wide to
punish their children for trumped-up grievances. Oh well. There are only a handful
of veggies he will willingly eat: artichoke leaves (not the hearts), fried okra
(he had to learn to like fried okra or he wasn’t allowed to continue living
under my roof), and edamame. I don’t know why edamame made the list, because he
refuses to touch any other legume, but I don’t question small victories. So when
I made this salad, the only veggie I added was shelled, steamed edamame. That
and the bacon made a great combination, and he was happy. So were the other
party-goers, so I call that a win.

Monday, July 13, 2015

It’s
summertime, which means picnics and barbecues are in full swing. While the
focus is usually on whatever’s on the grill, everyone knows the perfect side
dish can make it all that much better! But the problem, of course, is that many
of those picnic go-to recipes are loaded with dairy and egg ingredients. If
your allergies include those, the ever-popular pasta and potato salads become
landmines on the table.

This German Potato Salad is free from the Top 8 allergens,
and it's vegan, too! Recipe and photo credit: EarthyFeast.com.

That’s why I
took to the web to find some allergy-friendly pasta salads and potato salads
that will be welcome additions to the picnic table. (And no one will notice
they’re free from milk, egg, and nuts!) This week I’ll spotlight some potato
salad recipes. Come back next week for some tasty pasta salads that will
brighten your potluck gathering!

German Potato Salad: Great news! German potato salad is ALREADY free from the Top 8 allergens. Throw together some potatoes, bacon, and onions, then dress it with some vinegar, sugar, mustard, and salt, and garnish with a little fresh parsley or chives. Ta-da! Here is a traditional recipe for the Food Network's German Potato Salad, but if you want a vegan version without the bacon, try this super-delicious German Potato Salad recipe from Grace over at her EarthyFeast.com blog.

Roasted sweet potatoes and avocado take
potato salad to a whole new level. Recipe
and photo credit: EatingBirdFood.com.

Roasted Sweet Potato Salad: Holy cow, this recipe from Brittany and her EatingBirdFood.com blog looks amazing. This will take that old potato salad idea and
knock it clear out of the park. Roasted sweet potatoes, spinach, avocado, red
onion and dried cranberries are all dressed simply with a little apple cider
vinegar and lemon juice. What’s not to love?

Potato Salad with Avocado and Dill: Over at “Forks Over Knives,” I found this creamy
potato salad recipe that gets its “creaminess” from mashed avocado. Even
traditional potato salad lovers will love this combination. What a great idea!

Classic Potato Salad with Dijon and Vegetarian Bacon Bits: Of course, the easiest way to make an
allergy-friendly traditional creamy potato salad is as simple as swapping out
the regular mayo for an egg-free mayo, like Vegenaise. While the original Vegenaise flavor contains
soy, they also make a soy-free version! This recipe from About.com adds
balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing for an extra kick that should add just
enough flavor interest to disguise the fact that you used Vegenaise instead of
regular mayo!

Light and Fresh Potato Salad: If a traditional potato salad seems a little
blah to you, check out this version from MyRecipes.com, which adds a rainbow of
garden veggies and a light vinaigrette dressing instead of mayonnaise.

If you’re
not allergic to almonds, pistachios, or lemons, you’ll love Sicily. If you’re
allergic to almonds, pistachios, or lemons, you might want to plan on doing a
lot of your own cooking if you go there.

Almonds,
lemons, and pistachios are some of Sicily’s biggest crops, but stranglehold
trade restrictions from Sicily’s parent country, Italy, make it difficult (if not impossible) for Sicilian
farmers to sell them off-island. When you have a lot of something and you can’t
sell it, you use it in everything.

My mother and I enjoy a day visitingGreek Temples in Italy.

In May, my mother and I traveled to Sicily for a badly needed vacation. Truly, it’s a breathtaking
place. We were on the eastern coast of the island, in the town of Taormina.
From our beach-side hotel, we took day-trips to see the ancient and storied
town of Syracuse, the Straits of Messina (where Odysseus and his crew met with
scary monsters), the active volcano Mt Etna (which graciously did not erupt
until hours after we’d left its hillsides), an ancient Roman villa with
magnificently preserved mosaic floors, ancient Greek temples, and other
Sicilian marvels. Throughout history, the island, which is strategically
located off the “toe” of Italy, has been over-run by a steady parade of
better-armed empires, like Greece, the Byzantines, the Romans, the Spanish, the
Arabs, the French, and of course both sides of WWII. All that history and all
those conquering cultures have combined in Sicily to produce a land and a
people who seem to accept that “stuff happens” and you just have to roll with
it.

That extends
to their cooking. With a plethora of almonds on the island, they’ve learned how
to incorporate them into almost every meal. I had almond cookies, almond
gelato, almonds sprinkled on my pasta, and fish breaded with crushed almonds.
When almonds were missing, pistachios took up the slack.

Because of
the constant presence of those tree nuts, I was often glad my son wasn’t with
me on this trip. Sure, it would have been possible to talk to chefs and waiters
and request special handling to make sure he was being served almond-free
foods, but the constant vigilance would have made this vacation more stressful
than most we’ve taken. Since my mother and I are not allergic to tree nuts, we
were able to enjoy the food without worrying. (Although I must admit, I felt a
pang of guilt every time another dish arrived in front of me with almonds
sprinkled liberally over it.) (And I guess I should also admit that those
almond cookies were DIVINE. Don’t hate me.)

I'm telling ya, lemon granita is a highly civilized wayto end a breakfast. I could get used to this!

On the other
hand, if my son HAD been with me, he would have loved the lemons. There were jars
of lemon marmalade, lemon syrup, limoncello (a lemon-flavored liqueur—okay,
that would not have been for him, but definitely for me!), a lemon-cream pasta
sauce that was out of this world, and scoop after scoop after heavenly scoop of
lemon granita (Italian ice). Lemon granita was even served in the breakfast
buffet every morning at our hotel, which my mother and I agreed was a very
civilized way to face the day.

All of which
just goes to show… when life hands you almonds, make lemon ice!

An iconic Sicilian view: the active volcano Mt. Etna(notice the plume of smoke coming out of its vents),seen from a path through a lemon orchard.

Monday, March 30, 2015

Don’t look
now, but another food-oriented holiday is coming up this weekend. Yep, it’s time
for the Easter Bunny to make his once-yearly hop down the Bunny Trail with
baskets full of goodies.

For kids
with egg allergies, one of the first Easter hurdles is the tradition of dyeing
Easter eggs. If you’re wondering what to do, you have lots of options:

Some people
I know let their kids wear kitchen gloves to handle the eggs during the dyeing
process. For others, that’s just not worth the risk, so they opt for some of
the methods listed below.

Buy wooden,
plastic, ceramic or paper-mache eggs from the craft store, then decorate them using
paint, stickers, markers, and glitter.

Use your
favorite safe cookie recipe and some Easter-themed cookie cutters to bake
cookies, then decorate them. Wouldn’t you rather eat a cookie than a
hard-boiled egg anyway?

Make Jell-O
Jiggler eggs using Easter-shaped molds from the craft store, or make them in a
pan and use Easter-shaped cookie cutters to cut out shapes. (See the Jell-O box
for the recipe.)

Make safe
chocolate shapes by melting safe chocolate chips and pouring the melted
chocolate into Easter-shaped plastic molds (available at craft stores). This website uses non-safe chocolate wafers, but you should be able to substitute safe
chocolate chips like Enjoy Life Foods’ chocolate chips instead with similar
results.

Make
hard-candy stained glass Easter eggs with some metal cookie cutters in Easter
egg shapes and a bag of safe hard candy. Here is a website with instructions
for making hard-candy stained-glass ornaments.

Try making
Easter window clings—just draw your own Easter egg design instead of the
rainbow, and you can display a fun Easter egg in your window.

Print Easter
coloring pages. Low on time, energy, and creativity? No problem. Print some
Easter Egg coloring pages from the internet, and let your kids color them while
you tackle Easter dinner. Just search for Easter Egg Coloring Pages, and you’ll
find more than enough to keep any kid busy for a while.

The next
hurdle is finding safe Easter candy. Your best
bet for nut-free chocolate bunnies is always Hershey’s, and Target always
carries several nut-free Hershey’s candies. The safe bunnies are all 6-inch style
(Snapsy, Speedy Bunny, Princess Bunny, and Hollow Bunny), and they all contain
milk and soy lecithin, but they are peanut-free and tree-nut free. I also found
a package of 6 Hershey’s solid chocolate bunnies that are nut-free and contain
only milk and soy lecithin (but avoid the package of 6 “cookies and cream”
bunnies – they have additional allergens). Some flavors of Hershey’s kisses are
also nut-free, as well as Hershey’s mini foil-wrapped chocolate eggs. But
double-check labels – many Hershey’s products have nut warnings, so don’t
assume they’re safe until you check. And remember, all Hershey’s chocolate
includes milk and soy. Those Cadbury mini eggs are also nut-free, although they
contain milk, soy, and corn. But only the mini eggs are nut-free – the larger
sizes tend to have nut warnings. Target also has cones of Hershey’s chocolate
drops coated in white candy, sold in a cellophane cone (contains milk, corn,
and soy lecithin).

Looking for
a 6-inch bunny for the basket, but don’t want chocolate? Try a Strawberry or
Blue Raspberry gummy bunny, which I found at Target! (Contains soy and gelatin).

Many of our
“tried and true” candy manufacturers are jumping on the jelly-bean band wagon,
which means more safe jelly beans for our kids. Look for jelly beans from Jolly
Rancher (contains soy lecithin), Jelly Belly (contains soy lecithin), Starburst,
Life Savers, and Swedish Fish Eggs (I found these at Target). Target also had green
“Easter grass candy” from Twizzlers (contains wheat).

And finally,
remember that you don’t have to fill those plastic eggs with candy. Kids love
to find small novelties like tattoos, money, dice, jacks, army parachute men,
Hot Wheels cars, Polly Pockets, bracelets and rings, whistles, bubbles, and
other toys in their eggs.

My son’s
favorite Easter tradition was when I would type up clues and hide them inside
eggs. Each clue led to another egg with another clue, until finally he was led
to his basket filled with toys or games. Less candy, more fun!

Easter is a
time of traditions, but that does NOT mean you have to stick with the old,
dangerous ones. In fact, it’s a wonderful experience to invent brand new
traditions for your family that are safe, fun, and meaningful to you. So enjoy
your holiday with the people you love best, and say “Hi” to the Easter Bunny
for me.

Welcome!

As a member of the Utah Food Allergy Network (UFAN) and mom of an allergic kid, I've learned food allergies are easier to handle with information, a few handy tools, and a community of friends who “get it.” I post a new article most Mondays. Thanks for stopping by!

About Me

As a freelance writer, I've written dozens of how-to books, as well as countless essays and articles for magazines, publishers such as Fodor’s Travel Guides, and books like Chicken Soup for the Wine Lover’s Soul. In addition, I write adult and YA fiction, blog about food allergies, and am working on a food allergy cookbook. To feed my creative spirit, I read, hike, sail, and travel as often and as far as I can – over the years I've raced hermit crabs in the British Virgin Islands, slept in an Irish nunnery, listened for ancient whispers in Pompeii, snorkeled with a shark in Belize, and listened for advice from Shakespeare’s ghost in Stratford-Upon-Avon. Thanks for stopping by!

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I’m not a doctor. Never have been, never want to be, bless them all. Information on this site is for discussion and thought-provoking purposes only and should never be used in place of your doctor’s recommendations, and it cannot be construed as advice or diagnosis. By accessing this web site or the information in it in any form – electronic, paper, or any other type of real, alien, or imaginary media – you agree not to sue me, and to instead seek professional medical advice.P.S. No stalking, either.